Letters: DeSantis bill signing at charter school not really about education but politics

Gov. Ron DeSantis oddly chose Jacksonville Classical Academy in April to sign HB 1285, a bill that simplifies the process of turning a failing public school (one earning two “D” grades or an “F” grade) into a charter school. This charter school earned a “C” from the state last school year. It’s an adequate but hardly superior school in which to frame a bill designed to improve public education.

If showcasing high-achieving public schools was the governor’s intent, he could have had his bill-signing ceremony at either of two nearby non-charters that earned an “A” last year: Ruth N. Upson or Central Riverside elementary schools.

Perhaps he had something other than education in mind by choosing a mediocre charter school over two high-achieving non-charter neighborhood public schools to frame his event.

The Florida State Legislature champions charter schools but Duval County charters are hardly an example of a superior learning experience. Three of the five Duval County schools earning an “F” grade were charter schools for 2022-2023, and four of the 14 schools earning a “D” grade in the county were also charters. In fact, most Duval County charter schools earned a “C” or lower last school year.

Considering the alarmingly high percentage of charter schools in the county earning a “D” or “F,” one wonders: Would the state turn a failing charter school into a traditional public school?

Whatever led the governor to stage his bill signing at a local classical charter school, my guess is that it had less to do with education and more to do with promoting a political ideology antithetical to traditional public schools.

Richard Birdsall, Jacksonville

Hotel ordinance needed for hurricane season

With hurricane season starting next week, I’d like to share an incident that happened to our family during Hurricane Matthew in 2016. There was a mandatory evacuation for the Beaches area and we reserved three rooms for our family at a national hotel chain near the airport.

When we arrived, they refused to honor our reservation because we had our dog with us; there was not even an option to pay a pet fee, they just turned us away. Fortunately, we were able to find another airport hotel that graciously took us in, pets and all.

If our city leaders want to ensure residents obey evacuation orders, they must consider all the obstacles to doing so and attempt to remove them. Most people will not leave their pets behind, but will instead remain in their homes, defying the orders to leave. Also, many people may not be able to pay the hefty pet fees imposed by hotels who do accept pets.

At one time, I had heard that there was a temporary ordinance under consideration that would prohibit hotels from refusing pets in a hurricane situation and from charging unreasonable pet fees. Since it appears that this year will be an active season, hopefully local officials will take a stand for this cause, which will insure a safer, more compliant evacuation process for everyone.

Catherine Benz, Atlantic Beach

New law supports mental health training

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and depression, anxiety, suicide and substance abuse are at never-before-seen levels in our nation, especially among teens and young adults. In Florida, we are taking bold steps in response.

This past legislative session, I sponsored SB 330/HB 1617, with my Senate partner Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton), which establishes behavioral health teaching hospitals in Florida. The bill had the support of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples) and was recently signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The initiative establishes new designations for four hospital and university partnerships, including Tampa General Hospital, in affiliation with the University of South Florida; UF Health Shands Hospital, in affiliation with the University of Florida; UF Health Jacksonville, in affiliation with the University of Florida; and Jackson Memorial Hospital, in affiliation with the University of Miami.

These facilities will train incoming medical students in behavioral health treatment and create a highly skilled mental health care workforce, with professionals in psychiatry, psychology and counseling services.

This law allows our state to recruit, train and retain the next generation of providers while simultaneously increasing our ability to treat acute mental health care needs of children, teens and adults across the state.

State Rep. Sam Garrison (R-Fleming Island) is chair of the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee

Early diagnosis critical for Alzheimer’s

If the trend in Florida continues, there won’t be one person not impacted at some point by Alzheimer’s. Now is the time to act so we have the infrastructure to ensure families receive an accurate diagnosis to impact the progression of Alzheimer’s.

As someone who lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s and is now watching it take hold of my 52-year-old friend, I understand firsthand the impact of this disease. It tears families apart and impacts quality of life for all Jacksonville residents.

For the first time, new treatments are available to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s; however, they are only available to those in the early stages. We must ensure that public health departments are empowered to increase early detection and primary care providers should have the ability to accurately diagnose.

This is what the BOLD Reauthorization Act and the Accelerating Access to Dementia and Alzheimer’s Provider Training Act seek to do.

U.S. Rep. John Rutherford must join the Alzheimer’s Association in ensuring this legislation is passed in Congress. Across Jacksonville, we must advocate for accurate and early diagnosis. It’s the only way we can begin to truly impact this disease.

Carly J. Wille, Jacksonville Beach

Florida’s solid financial policies

USA Today’s Capital Bureau reporter John Kennedy apparently has an ongoing vendetta against Florida’s popular governor. In a May 6 Times-Union cover story, he slammed Gov. Ron DeSantis for turning down “free” federal monies earmarked for Florida under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Even by Washington standards the Inflation Reduction Act is oxymoronic, given the nearly 6% average yearly inflation rate under Biden’s term. These types of bills and executive orders — designed to curry favor with friendly voters by using taxpayer dollars — actually harm these same folks with awful policies.

More recently, a story by Kennedy in the Tallahassee Democrat criticized the Florida Legislature’s proposed budget. To put the annual state budget in proper perspective, at $117.5 billion it is less than half the amount of New York, a Blue state nearly equal in size.

To me, such financially conservative policies are the largest driver of continuous migration from Blue states to well-managed Red states — like Florida. The Biden Administration is failing spectacularly and honest voters know it.

John Ekdahl, Ponte Vedra Beach

Emerald Trail earns early kudos

On May 11, my husband and I biked on the new La Villa Link of the Emerald Trail.

We were so impressed. The trail markings were easy to follow and the new plantings along the way were lovely, as was the rest area with rocking benches and the view of the lake with Canada geese. The street crossings had little bicycles on the posts to show when passing was safe, and the light posts along the trail were a nice design.

We passed by the Prime Osborne Convention Center, which is an imposing building and part of Jacksonville’s history. We also passed the Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park, which will be another nice attraction when finished.

Thanks go to Groundwork Jacksonville and the City of Jacksonville for doing such an excellent job. We can’t wait for the next phase of the Emerald Trail.

Marianne Jordan, Jacksonville

Stadium revamp won’t change anything

In 1994, city officials pledged $60 million to build Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (now EverBank Stadium). They promised it would spur development downtown.

Yet today, downtown looks virtually identical. The biggest difference are the many acres of grass lots on the riverfront, clustered around the stadium where buildings used to stand.

The stadium has not brought development to the city and renovations will not change this. By many measures, Jacksonville's downtown is emptier today than ever before. While the city's economy has grown since 1994, it lags far behind Orlando, Austin and many other cities with no NFL team.

Mayor Deegan's effort to ensure renovations to EverBank Stadium is misguided. Accounting for inflation, her $625 million request is roughly five times higher than the original total cost of $134 million to build the stadium. These expensive renovations will not reverse downtown's fortunes.

Nick Freiling, Jacksonville

Postal service problems

Our mail system has been disrupted. Cities and towns across the country are experiencing mail delays, as well as theft. In my mind, the main problem is Louis DeJoy, U.S. postmaster general. He has destroyed valuable mail-processing equipment and is trying to privatize the U.S. mail, which would raise our costs even higher.

Only the U.S. Postal Service board of directors can replace him. This process starts with the Senate majority and members of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Readers should contact members of this committee to move the decision for deJoy’s replacement to the full Senate for approval. For their names and Washington, D.C., office phone numbers, enter the committee name into your computer search engine. This is not a partisan issue, but a vital national problem and will also affect voting rights.

Nancy E. Moore, Penney Farms

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: A-rated neighborhood schools were better choices for bill signing